Faxing an insurer
After a leak, a crash or a burglary, the clock on reporting starts ticking: proof of sending counts.
Insurance policies often set a short window for reporting a claim — in many cases only a few working days. Plenty of insurers and brokers still accept fax for a claim form, an accident report, a police report or invoices. The right number is the claims department’s, as shown in your policy schedule or your online account, not the sales branch’s. Put your policy number at the top and, if one has already been assigned, your claim number.
Why an insurer still takes faxes
Insurers process vast quantities of paperwork from garages, loss adjusters, doctors and tradespeople. Some of those partners still work by fax, and claims platforms keep scanning incoming faxes automatically to route them to the right file.
For the policyholder, the benefit is a timestamped record: if the policy requires notice within a set period, a transmission report dated that very day is a concrete argument. It is also handy when a paper accident report signed by both drivers needs to go out fast.
Where to find the right number
- Your policy schedule or certificate of insurance, which give the contact details of the claims or assistance department.
- Your online account or the insurer’s app, under “Make a claim” or “Contact”.
- Your broker or agent, licensed by your provincial insurance regulator, who knows which channel the company expects and can pass your documents on directly.
What the cover page should say
- The company’s name and the words “Claims department”.
- Your policy number and, if known, your claim number.
- The date and nature of the incident (accident, theft, water damage, fire).
- A list of the enclosed documents and the total page count.
The record to keep
Keep the transmission report, the exact PDF and any reply from the insurer. The report establishes the date of sending, which is valuable if anyone disputes whether you reported in time. For extra formality, the FaxTelecom PDF receipts option provides a request receipt and a transmission receipt, which you pay for only when the fax gets through.
Other channels, sometimes better
Online claim forms
Policyholder accounts issue a claim number on the spot and accept photos: usually the quickest option.
The assistance hotline
In an emergency (car off the road, home unfit to live in), a call gets help moving; the written claim follows.
Registered post
Some policies require it for cancellation or a formal complaint, and it remains the benchmark whenever the terms call for it.
Other recipients
- Fax speeds up gathering the paperwork; it never stands in for signing the deed.
- Health data on the line: getting the number right matters more here than anywhere.
- Sick note, certificate, proof of absence: let them know on time without saying too much.
- A review letter, a reassessment, a request for receipts: your SIN and the letter’s reference do the sorting.
Faxing a public body
In this section
- Faxing an organisation
- Sick note, certificate, proof of absence: let them know on time without saying too much.
- A review letter, a reassessment, a request for receipts: your SIN and the letter’s reference do the sorting.
- An application, proof of age, a direct-deposit change: one wrong SIN and the file stalls.
Where to go next
Hand-picked pages to help you prepare, send or prove your fax.